“Dine Small” in the Midlands: Treat Your Economy, Community and—Best of All—Your Taste Buds
November 26, 2014
By Elliott Cooper, District Director, and Anna Huntley, Economic Development Specialist, SBA South Carolina District Office
“Shop small!” has become the rallying cry of Small Business Saturday—a new annual tradition the day after Black Friday. Now, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the National Restaurant Association have declared another Small Business Saturday mission: Dine small.
Let’s start off with some statistics: 65 percent of a small, independent restaurant’s revenue gets recirculated into the community, versus about 30 percent for a national chain restaurant, according to a 2012 study by the American Booksellers Association and Civic Economics. Therefore, to dine small is to support your local economy.
But let’s face it: statistics—no matter how impressive—are a bit boring. Here at the SBA’s South Carolina District Office, we made it our mission to get to the very heart of why consumers should dine small. We decided to become the foremost dining small experts.
To become real experts on dining small, however, we had to get out in the field and conduct research of our own. These are our findings:
‘Twas the day before Thanksgiving, and there on Main Street,
We strolled the sidewalk searching for something to eat.
Small Business Saturday was but three days away,
So we made up our minds to eat local today.
Olive Grill Mediterranean, tucked next to a barber shop on Taylor just a half block from Main, was our first stop.
No matter how cold it is outside (and it was chilly, wet and windy during our visit), Olive Grill seems warm. It may be because of the cheery yellow and blue décor, but we think the real reason is the welcome Leslie Nasehi gives every customer. Nasehi owns Olive Grill with her husband Abdi, the restaurant’s chef. A native of Iran, Abdi Nasehi infuses the Mediterranean-style fare with Persian flavor, using Basmati rice and spices like saffron. Almost everything is made from scratch.
Now here’s the hard part: Describing just how good that scratch-made food was. The falafel—small fried patties made of chickpea flour that are like Mediterranean cousins of hush puppies—were savory with just the right amount of kick. The zesty chicken kabob, gently charred on the outside and tender on the inside, packed more flavor than we thought chicken capable of. The lamb was delicate and tasted just as lamb should, while the mildly tangy barbecued lamb more than held its own in a state that’s home to an official BBQ Trail.
One of Leslie Nasehi’s customers summed it up best: “I can taste the work that went into this food.”
1211 Taylor Street
803-799-9090
Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Next up was Cali’s Café, just down the street next to the Columbia City Ballet. Located in a narrow little space next to the Columbia City Ballet, Cali’s offers an array of healthy sandwiches and dishes—including a wide selection of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free items—that are inspired by co-owner Sonya Moore’s California roots.
Moore started Cali’s in April 2013 after working for two years at Earth Fare and finding and fixing up what she said was initially “just a hole-in-the-wall.”
“And voila, here I am,” she said.
For Moore, eating fresh is the key to eating healthy, which is why she and her sister, Rhozeter Wright, make everything to order.
For us, eating fresh was the key to deliciousness. To get a head start on Thanksgiving, we went with the two most popular turkey options: The San Francisco sandwich and the turkey burger. The San Francisco—sliced turkey, pepper jack cheese, red onions, pesto, and horseradish mayo—was the sandwich that Cali’s first opened its doors with, Moore said. And with a flavor combination both distinctive yet familiar, we could taste why. The San Francisco was a very good sandwich, but the turkey burger? Now that was a bit of turkey-flavored heaven on lightly buttered toast.
Cali’s Café
1124 Taylor Street
803-629-7471
Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Although we were starting to feel more stuffed than a Thanksgiving turkey, we persevered, heading to Michael’s Café and Catering nearby on Main. After all, we still had some important research to do.
Head chef Michael Fusco sums up his restaurant best: “We’re a little bit of everything– Breakfast, lunch, dinner, retail, catering. We have a deli case that changes daily.”
In that spirit, the staff at Michael’s thought we should sample a little bit of everything. Well, not actually everything, but at least a bit of breakfast, a bit of lunch and some items from the deli case. And that’s how we found ourselves staring at a Philly steak sandwich, a breakfast burrito with a side of cheese grits, and a pretty little plate of chicken salad. We took a deep breath and dived in.
And it was great. Banana peppers gave the Philly a subtle sweetness and kick. Echoing that hint of spice, the breakfast burrito included a sprinkling of jalapenos that brought out the creaminess of the eggs and cheddar and the sweetness of the onions. And it came with a dish of salsa that at least one of us would have liked to eat plain with a spoon. The grits, from Adluh Flour, were so smooth, they almost betrayed their name’s meaning. Equally smooth was the chicken salad, one of the restaurant’s most popular items.
1620 Main Street
803-726-2233
Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Still committed to our research, we waddled across the street to Salina Café Deli and Restaurant. Occupying the space that used to be Sammi’s Deli, Salina’s offers something new for a lot of Midlands residents: Ethiopian cuisine. But Salina’s also offers familiar fare, like gyros and burgers.
We opted for the Ethiopian experience—experience being the operative word. Co-owner Sophi Thomas, who’s originally from Ethiopia, sat us at a low woven table and brought out a plate of what looked like a huge thin pancake topped with small scoops of lentils, collard greens, potatoes and green beans, cabbage, fresh cheese, and in the center, a piece of chicken. When we started to look around for cutlery, Thomas demonstrated how we were supposed to eat it with our hands. We tore of pieces of the moist flat bread and wrapped them around the different items, which was much more fun than anything involving silverware. Fermented for several days, the bread tasted like sourdough and complemented the spiciness of the lentils and chicken perfectly. The collards were tart yet delicate, the cooked cabbage flavorful and still crunchy. And the cheese was wonderful–like a softer, kinder, gentler version of feta.
Oh, and a little expert advice: Ask for the Ethiopian coffee. It involves cinnamon, cloves and—best of all—a special traditional ceremony in which Thomas roasts and grinds the coffee beans over a table of tiny delicate china cups.
Salina Café and Deli Restaurant
1621 Main Street
803-255-0001
Our research was finished. Our stomachs and our minds were expanded. We realized that not only was dining small good for local economies, but it was great for local communities. Perhaps most obvious of all, it was simply great dining.
We sprang to the car, pushed down on the gas,
I think we quite likely had quadrupled in mass.
And folks could hear us exclaim as we drove down the street,
Happy shopping small to us all, and to all some good eats!
